Monday Musings: a record-setting day; avenging 2023 stupidity

IIIIIIITTTTTT’SSSSSSSSS MONDAY!!!!!!

And it’s another victory Monday. And it’s a victory Monday over Manny Diaz. Man….I sure do love winning. The Canes dispatched with Duke with an insane second half and sit where we’ve dreamed they’d sit for decades: inside the top 5 late in the season.

So, let’s grab those buckets of popcorn, kick our feet up, and check out the Miami Hurricanes-related thoughts playing out through the recesses of my mind.

1) Man. I was mad. I’m not going to lie.

Watching Maalik Murphy turn into Patrick Mahomes for a quarter and a half had me pretty damned mad. Duke went on scoring drives of 83, 77, 75, and 75 yards on all true drives in the second quarter and first drive of the third.

What got me so damned angry was Miami’s refusal to get out of man coverage during just an absolutely brutal stretch from the defense. Duke did what they wanted, and Miami made it easy for them by not switching things up. Even my lay eye could see it. It was a bad look on Lance Guidry, whose defense has been the only thing keeping this team from being a true national title contender in my eyes.

2) However, the switch flipped in the third quarter, and on both sides of the ball.

After scoring just 3 points on offense in the second quarter, Cam Ward and the offense woke up in a major way in the third quarter, scoring on every drive of the second half except for an interception in the third quarter and a fumble at the very end in garbage time. Ward was brilliant again, reaching 400 passing yards with 4 touchdowns and continuing to build up his Heisman resume.

It coincided perfectly with a defense that managed to finally get its act together and make some big plays in the second half. OJ Frederique had himself a game despite the secondary being largely terrible for parts, pulling down an interception and returning it 30 yards. Miami would punch it in on the following drive and not cough up the lead again. Jadais Richard had a pick before suffering what appeared to be a knee injury and getting carted off. The defense forced a Murphy fumble and recovered late in the fourth. A remarkable turnaround effort from the group.

3) Xavier Restrepo is now the Miami Hurricanes career yardage leader and the co-leader in career catches.

You have to love that. His quarterback/roommate left, but he stuck with the program, and now his name is in the school’s record books along with some true football royalty. And Canes fans are surely appreciative, because who knows where this team would be without him this year. Congrats, #7.

4) Miami now sits at #4 in both polls, with the first College Football Playoff rankings set to be released tomorrow.

Oh, and speaking of rankings, Louisville is now ranked in the AP poll, giving Miami a win over a ranked team. I was told Louisville was no good after Miami beat them. Might want to ask Clemson about that.

It’s also kind of amusing to see the ACC (5) with more ranked teams now in the AP poll than the Big 10 (4). Just simply stating facts.

5) Now, we can turn our attention to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

I will be there this weekend. I’ve always wanted to see a game there, and what better year than this? Hopefully the Canes can overcome my typically terrible in-person football watching luck and get some revenge for the worst loss I’ve ever seen in my life in 2023. Like, that game still makes my blood boil. Granted, Miami was screwed over by the officials who didn’t reverse the Don Chaney fumble despite this look, but still…

Anywho, this is a moment that should still be burning at the backsides of the players on this roster who were a part of it last year. Tech always, AAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLWAYS, is a pain in Miami’s backside, so I don’t see Miami going belt to a$$ on them. They should. They’re the far better team, but this is a game where I don’t feel all that comfortable with a blowout. Just find a way on Saturday so 2023 can be put to bed a little bit (it will never fully be put to bed).

Go Canes!